Leaders of the undocumented youth movement in the United States have crossed the border into Mexico, and plan to turn themselves in alongside other undocumented youth who left or were deported from the United States at a border crossing next week. With applications for legal admission in hand, they will demand to be allowed to return home to the United States.
The brave and courageous young people include our friends — Lizbeth Mateo, Lulu Martinez and Marco Saavedra — who are all eligible for the DREAM Act or deferred action. They will return to the United States on Monday, July 22, 2013, and ask for legal admission at the border.
Quick things you can do right now to support this brave action:
- Show your support for the action by sharing this Thunderclap link on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, and with your friends elsewhere.
- Sign petitions to bring home the other dreamers accompanying the trio: Adriana, Luis, Maria, Claudia, Ceferino.
- Reblog and share this video by Lizbeth Mateo. And this video by Marco Saavedra. Check back for more videos soon.
- Share, comment, and react to the Buzzfeed article,
- Donate to help Lizbeth, Lulu and Marco as they come out of the shadows at the border with the other dreamers.
Lizbeth grew up in Los Angeles, and she had not seen her family living in Mexico for fifteen years. Lulu Martinez came to the U.S. at the age of three, and has spent years working for immigrant rights and LGBT rights. Marco Saavedra is a poet and a painter. He graduated from Kenyon College in Ohio, and now works at his family’s restaurant in New York City. All of them have been living in the United States since before the age of 16.
The Obama administration reached historic highs in removals during the president’s first four years in office. While the number of removals is reportedly dwindling this year, a lot of people are still being deported. Challenging these policies is part of the reason, Lizbeth Mateo, Marco Saavedra and Lulu Martinez made the trip to Mexico. They realize they may not gain re-entry into the U.S.
But they also realize that the fight to keep families together does not end after deportation.
NIYA activists have gone to great lengths to oppose detention and deportation. They have infiltrated detention centers and participated in acts of civil disobedience in order to challenge the President’s immigration policy. They have promised to build a movement on the other side of the border, and plan to bring deported immigrant youth back home to the United States
The President has 1.7 million broken promises to deal with. He’s going to deal with them now. The real immigration debate is not in Congress. It is at the border, as undocumented youth put their lives on the line to reunite families.
The press contact for the NIYA action is Domenic Powell: media@theniya.org